1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a power control method and a radio network controller (RNC), and more particularly to a power control method and an RNC for performing an outer loop power control operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advancements in technologies, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol is prevalent in applications of macrocells and femtocells to bring convenience to the daily life. In current techniques, power control mechanisms in 3GPP compliant communication systems can be categorized into open loop power control and closed loop power control. The closed loop power control is further divided into inner loop power control and outer loop power control.
In general, the inner loop power control compensates fast fading of a signal by adjusting transmission power of a user equipment (UE) or a base station, whereas the outer loop ensures that a communication system is offered with adequate quality having an acceptable transmission error rate by controlling a target value of a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). As the 3GPP continues to prevail, it is a common goal of manufacturers to provide an even more efficient power control method.